New Beer Sunday (Week 666)

I missed out on the Bourbon County Stout this year, so I purchased a couple bottles of this. IMHO this needs a year in the crawl space, too damn hot. Label says it's aged in whiskey barrels, certainly not as smooth as Bourbon barrel aged stout. Oh well. So much for my first NBS post.

 

G' afternoon NBS-ers! We finally made it to Beelzebub's new beer day!
I don't have anything appropriate for today so this one from @beertunes will have to do for my opening salvo.
Wander Brewing The Willows Innn Loganita Farmhouse Ale


Poured from a 500ml bottle into a JK Snorkel snifter. No date visible.

Appearance: Clear golden body with a full finger's worth of soapy white bubbles. Slowly dissipates to a thin cap that forms around the outside edges.

Aroma: Hints of apple, coriander, straw.

Taste/Mouthfeel: First impression is this is like a white wine with a little more juiciness to it. There is an underlying smoke in the middle. This line ends with a lemon/citrus taste. A soft and light Mouthfeel with a low abv, nice and easy to drink.

Overall: A lovely looking beer that has a subtle aroma and a great taste that has layers of flavors combines to make this a terrific beer.

Cheers!

 

This is a great beer, period.

 

Good afternoon NBS and go Eagles on this hopefully epic Sunday being the 666th round of this thread! Starting my Sunday Bourbon County Brand Northwoods. Honestly I was a little nervous going into this beer since I was on the fence on it because of Founders Lizard Of Koz and @CanConPhilly telling me it was hella sweet on draft, but I still bought 2 bottle and I’m loving the first one right now. Not as good as I remember Backyard Rye being (the only other fruit variant I’ve tried), but still very well balanced with both the blueberries and almonds.
4.59/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500 ml bottle, dated 8/10/17, poured into a goblet

A- Black with a small mocha head.

S- Chocolate, almonds/sweet almond cookies, some bourbon, blueberries, sweet but not cloyingly sweet.

T- Blueberries, almond cookies, dark chocolate, nutty, bourbon, some oak, nicely balanced.

O- Smooth, full body.

O- Sweet, blueberries and almonds are a great touch to the base without making this crazy sweet comprared to regular BCBS. Love the almonds in this.

So happy I decided to grad a second bottle, I highly recommend drinking this close to room temperature, cheers!

 

Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout. I needed a break from hops. Pours pitch black with a half inch beige head that left a fair amount of lacing. Smells and tastes of roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee, dark fruits and molasses. Light to medium bodied for the style, light carbonation with a slightly watery mouth feel, slightly dry and bitter finish.

 

Happy Sunday NBS. Fun to see some people trying devil themed beers. Unfortunately I dropped the ball on that but still have an excellent offering that I've been wanting to try for a couple years. With Xocoveza being in season I thought this was a perfect time to try out this Mexican Cake and see which one I prefer. Big thanks to @SammyJaxxxx for this one!


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22oz bottle poured into a Teku glass. Not sure the vintage.

Pours motor oil black with a chocolate brown colored head that is over a finger high. Head disappears quickly leaving a small ring around the inside of the glass. No lacing at all.

Aromas of vanilla bean, chocolate, cinnamon, and a hint of pepper in the background.

Flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, molasses, roasted malt, chocolate. The habanero heat is quite noticeable and lingers on the tongue.

Feel isn't overly thick but certainly isn't thin. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Very little carbonation.

Overall an excellent offering! I've been drinking a good amount of Xocoveza recently and I think I prefer this beer to Xocoveza. Seems to have a little more heat to it.

4.48/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

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Cheers all!

 

New beer #4. My second from the fresh hop pack.

Sierra Nevada - Fresh Hop IPA
6.4% abv
Canned 10/13/17 (44 days ago)
Score: 3.89 (-4.2% rDev)



L - Massive, everlasting head atop a medium orange body.

S - dirt, pine, spicy hops, a little citrus.

T - All spicy hops at first. Reminds me of Indian food spices (which I love). Dirt mixed with some sweetness in the middle. Surprisingly low bitterness.

F - Medium body and carb.

O - This is a weird brew. I like it but it's very non-traditional. Need to look up what hops are in this, because I've never tasted Indian food in a beer before, but I taste it in this. (And I haven't eaten Indian food in weeks, for the record.)

 

I purchased probably 15 bombers of the 2013 iteration of Darkness - my local in Mankato had copious amounts of it for at least 2 months. Not anymore.

PS: When I rated Darkness, I came in at 4.75, too. If I rated it today, I'd dial it back, too, to somewhere in the 4.50 range. Great minds and all that .....

 

I just escaped from the depths of my basement with this menacing brew which @mattflippin and I saved for NBS 666. For the description, the bottle speaks for itself:


This one was bottled in 3/2017. Nothing subtle about this one!
There was a slightly hazy rust color on the pour that turned cola brown in the glass. A large menacing tan head formed but quickly settled leaving a small cap. A seriously funky nose with red wine, oak barrels, cherries, and leather. On the palate, a mouth-puckering tartness featuring sour cherries and red wine. The funk was there but was somewhat hidden behind the tartness. The Munich malt provided some bready notes with a bit of tobacco and leather. Medium-bodied with medium carbonation. The sourness lingered after the last sip, gradually fading into oblivion.

Cheers!

 

New At The Brewery Beer Sunday:

Jester King Biere de Coupage

Sweet nose of citrus, kumquat, lemon and even a bit of biscuit malt. Flavor is much earthier but still has some lingering sweetness.

The review:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24018/298810/?ba=Premo88#review

4.17. (+0.5% rDev)

That beer has some (evil) significance:


Cheers, fellow (minions) NBSers!

 

Avery The Reverend

Happy 666 Sunday, BAs! That lovely poem by @cavedave reminded me I have another beer in the cellar appropriate for this occasion, but I decided to stick with my initial plan: a quad I tucked away in 2014 called The Reverend.

This is apparently named after the grandfather of a friend of the brewery. Given it's a real dude, I'll spare you my views on which side of the ongoing war of good versus evil the guy on the bottle serves.

The Reverend pours a semi-clear honey-red-amber color with a half finger of light tan head. Leaves a wisp across the top and relatively decent lacing.

Sweet, complex aroma with toffee, light cherry, raspberry, vanilla, a hint of chocolate and some dull earthy hops.

Much plainer tasting. There's really very little of the toffee and just a hint of the fruit. There's a little dull sweetness that's easily balanced by dull hops. Not quite cardboard territory, but possibly heading in that direction. Lightest kiss of alcohol.

Fairly light bodied for the style, a tad syrupy, with solid carbonation.

Looks and smells great, but the taste falls flat for me. Too thin for a quad, IMO. The devil strikes again.

 

I had just opened this and saw the thread. Liftoff is a decent pale but this one packs a ton of mosaic hops on it so if you love mosaic this is one to seek out.

 

Well, on the "Devil's" NBS-

Metric Pils from Industrial arts.
Pours like a classic German Pilsner. Beautiful clear yellow, tiny bubbles rising constantly, big ultra white head.
Aroma is bread-like, but sweet, like sweet bun.
Taste is textbook (IMO) G Pils. Mouth feel is nice, clean, light.
I would definitely buy this again.
Here's another pic with our own turkey (so we have left overs).

Speaking of 666, I think the devil got to my to the edge of my pie crust in the background.

 

Poured bottled on October 6, 2017 at near room temperature. Poured aggressive a got a solid 2 finger off white head that leaves a little lace. 4.25

Smell is fig, dates, burnt brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, caramel, and warming Bourbon. 4.25

Taste follows loads of dark fruits, brown sugar, vanilla, caramel, toffee, and some bourbon. 4.25

Mouthfeel is bigger than medium, moderate carbonation, maybe a tad dry, and for 14+% ABV is surely a sipper. 4

Overall this is exactly what I was expecting a big beer, loaded with flavors of dark fruit and Bourbon. Really special, can't wait to see how this develops. 4

 

Unfortunately I haven't had much time for BA the last few months so imagine my delight upon discovering another day of dark worship here on NBS!

I wasnt prepared but here we go....

Going to join the Hell's BELL'S party with @Roguer and @cjgiant. I agree with @cjgiant that Mr. Top Hat looks a bit devilish so I had him conjure up a pal for added effect.



Nice looking brew with bold coffee nose and flavor.


I seem to have had a similar experience as he other party goers though I did get a bit less in the flavor department. I do especially agree with @Roguer about the "long wet finish" and with @cjgiant concerning the fresh brewed coffee aroma mentioned in his official review. Also agree that this is a coffee lovers stout light although the lower ABV was appreciated.

3.94/5 rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottled 10/17/17
12 oz. bottle poured into a tulip.

Pouring deep brown it stacks up black in the glass with the aggressive pour yielding two plus fingers of two tone, cream and tan foam. The head was dense with larger bubbles forming where I was pouring. Sheets of lace break into clinging spots after I tilt the glass.

Robust coffee aromas are pretty much all I get from my nose. I am not a coffee drinker so I struggle with describing different coffee aromas and flavors but this reminds me of both fresh grounds and freshly used coffee filters.

Like the nose, the flavor is predominately coffee with a nice roasty bitterness. It finishes with a moderate tangy bitterness that doesn't linger too long. It is definitely less sweet than I expeted for a Milk Stout.

The mouthfeel is thinner than expected as well and I put it to the light side of medium bodied. The lowish carbonation isn't really noticeable which for me usually means it is right where my taste buds think it should be. It doesn't have a particularly soft or creamy feel.

Enjoyable and easy drinking but not exciting. I find myself wishing it was heavier, smoother and sweeter.

Recommended if you like coffee.



Keep it devilish NBS.....

..and hats off to @cavedave for the cool words!

 

Ok, so Focal Banger. The ying and yang, fruity Citra balanced by an earthy Moasic. A bit of a tug of war , the Citra is on the nose and all upfront, the Mosaic is all over the finish. Such a well constructed beer, I can really split the hops in half. I always drink these kind of beers from the can, I just prefer than that way. Not overly anything, they say they use English malts, but this doesn't hit me as a sedate English version of an IPA, quite the contrary. There's plenty of tasty hops and enough malt to make it pleasant to drink. If pushed I still prefer Heady though.

 

Good afternoon(ish) and an unpleasant New Beelzebub Sunday, all of you 666ers! I've been dancing with good and evil all weekend. Well, more like all of my life really, but I'm talking about family here. We went on a journey through the heavenly Willamette Valley with my sisters (not even my own!) In-laws to partake in some sinister wine tasting yesterday.











The devil takes on many forms. Satan, is that you?



Afterwards, my verdict definitely suggests that wine is no drink of the Godly. Beer on the other hand...

My NBS contribution comes from someone who is either composed of angelic and generous gestures, or diabolical intentions. Is @WesMantooth Beelzebub, amusing himself by deviously offering elixirs and testing my will against temptations, or is he using selflessness to portray a muse? Will I find myself in eternal damnation by giving in? We'll let a Dark Apparition be the judge.

Jackie O's
Double Barrel Dark Apparition- Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon and Port Barrels.





As the roasted hazelnut hued liquid leaves the bottle, the motor oil rich appearance descends into the Duvel tulip as one black mass. It's dark as sin, with the only light being a coastline of tan foam.

The smell is sweet. Black strap molasses and chocolate smell as if they are coating an oak barrel, like syrup. Spiced coffee, booze, and deep red wine support a dark fruit base.

Such a complexity of flavors overjoy the taste buds. In similar fashion, the syrupy molasses takes lead. A hint of booze and then rich roasted malts, burnt toast and almost smokey chocolate, and sweet black cherries follow before letting the oak and a tad more booze linger on.

The surreal rich stickiness is simply amazing. It's as bold and oily as it should be. It demands you take your time between tastes, though I do not want to. It is indeed sweet, with bitterness clearly coming from it's roasted qualities, and the only perception of dryness coming from oak. Somehow, the mildest prickly carbonation still manages to emerge through its density.

The Devil as my witness, this is the best BA stout I've had in a long time. It is sinisterly good in every facet with the exception of a more impressive head and lacing, but that is just a minor matter of preference. Thank you Corey for this amazing treat! Cheers.

With that...Yup! He's the Devil!

After my official review, I gave this a rating of 4.7, with an rDev of +4.0%

 

My dogs and I decided to enjoy the beautiful November day with a nature hike. Later, I finished up a delicious Thanksgiving leftover lunch and now I am enjoying my liquid dessert. Dragons and other fantastic beasts!

New Holland DMR Moca Mint is night sky black with a thin 1 finger tan head that slowly fades into a collar and leaves some lacing on my glass. Aroma is excellent and reminds me of a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream layered with hot fudge. Flavor is sweeter with some caramel and bourbon. The mint chocolate chip ice cream with fudge is there along with hints of coffee and vanilla. Feel is medium, not thick, but smooth and rich with some carbonation. I am happy to say that I managed to find one bottle and enjoyed it.

 

Greetings and thanks to our hosts for encouraging us all to have fun with theme! I'd be planning to pick up Iron Maiden's "Trooper" beer for this occasion but had trouble finding it even though I feel like I always saw them around in the past. Luckily, I found what I assume to be a new entry in their "lineup": Hallowed, a hybrid beer that is "Inspired by Belgium. Made in England". 6% ABV.



I was never a specifically huge Iron Maiden fan, but I was a metalhead of sorts in High School in the 1980s so I certainly had a few of their albums. And they're a band that I continue to keep half an eye on simply because of their longevity and the fact that they seem to be a bunch of good dudes who have a blast doing what they do.

For those who didn't live through the 80s, it's probably difficult to imagine just how much moral panic there was back then about metal bands, and Iron Maiden's album art alone put them in the cross hairs of the controversy. It's really amazing to think that there were serious worries about "satan worship" and such centered around what were essentially a bunch of ordinary blue collar jabronis from old mill towns trying to have some fun and make a living. Now that Ozzy Osbourne songs are played at NFL games and Bruce Dickinson pilots a 747 around the world I guess they are having the last laugh.

Anyway, on to the beer! The clerk at the store told me that the band actually has a lot of input on the beer and that these aren't just a cheap licensing gimmick, so I have high hopes.



It pours a sharp amber/copper that is about as clear as a beer this dark could be. There's a huge fluffy head that dissipates fast but leaves a thick ring almost like on a cup of hot chocolate. Nose is somewhat muted at first but grows as it warms/sits. Some molasses, raisins, and rich, somewhat sweet malt as well as the expected Belgian clove/banana esters. Taste is very clean and surprisingly crisp. Mostly brown bread and malt as well as more raisin/date. It definitely gets sweeter as it warms as well. I don't pick up much for hops and the clove-y esters are definitely present but not overpowering (they really come out as it warms though). Mouthfeel is thinner than the appearance suggests but not "thin" per se. In a nutshell I might say this is sort of like an English dark mild made with Belgian yeast?

It's a tasty and interesting beer, though the fact that I'm not a big fan of those Belgian yeast esters keeps me somewhat at arms length from it. I'll be curious to hit the review page and see what the Belgian and English aficionados think.

Damn you all to hell!!